MANSFIELD – Four years ago, Richland County was faced with a “brain drain” problem – an exodus of talented, intelligent young adults from the community.
To combat that issue, business and community leaders came together to form Richland Young Professionals (RYP). Now, four years later, the group has started to come into its own.
“It feels like we’re on a precipice,” said RYP President Jessica Gribben. “There’s really an opportunity to take this group to the next level.”
Gribben and Vice President Nikki Lewis have been involved with RYP since the group’s creation. Now, they are prepared to hand their leadership positions off to the next batch of motivated young professionals.
“I don’t know what that looks like, and that’s the exciting part for us because we’ve put our blood, sweat and tears into getting everything started and to hand it off to people who have new energy, new ideas and a new focus is exciting,” Gribben said. “We know we’ve laid a good groundwork so someone can come in and kick it up a notch.”
In addition to president and vice president, the RYP leadership board will have positions available on committees that oversee membership, marketing, professional development, social development, community engagement and mentorship.
Primarily, RYP focuses on three types of events: networking, professional development and community engagement. One such event is featured once a month among RYP’s 500 members – though not all members are actively engaged.
“These next few years we need to focus on really getting those people involved and coming out to those,” Lewis said. “We see probably half on a semi-regular basis.”
Becoming a member of RYP is free and easy. It involves filling out a survey on RYP’s official website. From there, the perks of membership depend solely on the individual.
“It really is what you want it to be,” Lewis said. “If you are here just to make new friends or meet new people, that’s a really good way to do it. if you want to further your career, the professional development programs are the way to go. Or maybe you just want to get involved in the community.”
Getting members involved in their community is a primary goal of RYP, especially when it comes to solving the “brain drain” problem locally.
“The biggest reason people leave is because they don’t feel connected to a place,” Gribben said. “We hope to be that connector; we take new people to lunch, talk to them about the ins and outs of the community, and connect them to what they’re excited about so they’re not sitting at home on the weekend. They’ve met people and they have things to do.”
“If you don’t move here because of family, it’s hard to find those friends and be part of those circles,” added Lewis. “This is one of the ways they can be involved and they can connect with and meet people outside of work friends.”
Lewis and Gribben are officially stepping away from their roles on Jan. 1, but they won’t be stepping away from RYP altogether. More than anything, they’re ready for the young professionals group to bring some new perspectives to the table.
“I feel like we’ve built a great foundation, so they just have to come in with energy and ideas,” Gribben said. “The sky’s the limit for what they can do.”
For more information on becoming a member or joining the leadership board of Richland Young Professionals, contact Nikki Lewis at nlewis@richlandareachamber.com.
